SF2917

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to make changes to laws regarding how certain fees are presented in advertisements, specifically for food and beverage service establishments. It aims to exempt these establishments from having to disclose mandatory fees in their advertised prices.

Main Provisions

• Deceptive Trade Practices: The bill amends Minnesota Statutes to define deceptive trade practices in the context of advertisements that do not include mandatory fees.
• Advertisement Requirements: Current law requires advertisements to disclose all mandatory fees that are unavoidable for the consumer and expected to be included in the price. The bill provides specific criteria for compliance regarding fee disclosures.
• Specific Exemption for Food and Beverage Establishments: The bill introduces an exemption for food and beverage service establishments (including hotels), allowing them not to disclose mandatory fees in advertisements. It requires that any automatic and mandatory gratuities be displayed clearly in their pricing information.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• The bill exempts food and beverage service establishments from the requirement to include mandatory fees in their advertised prices. This represents a departure from the previously more stringent advertising requirements.
• It updates the previous compliance regulations with several clarifications about how platforms and service providers can satisfy fee disclosure requirements.

Relevant Terms

• Deceptive trade practice
• Mandatory fees
• Service advertisement
• Food and beverage service establishment
• Automatic gratuities
• Fee disclosure requirements